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Feeling the chill? Need a warming festive drink to snuggle up with? This Christmas hot chocolate is exactly what you need! A rich and creamy chocolate drink, teamed up with classic festive spices. Guaranteed to make you feel cosy, content and Christmassy! Read on for both saucepan and Velvetiser festive hot chocolate methods…
Christmas spiced hot chocolate
When it’s cold outside, there’s nothing better than cosying up on the sofa with a nice warm mug of hot chocolate. And when it comes to the festive season? Time to team it up with some Christmas spices of course!
Think of that gloriously unique Christmas smell, wrapped up in a mug of luxuriously creamy and warming chocolatey goodness. Sounds good right?
While hot chocolate sticks are a wonderful homemade gift, Christmas hot chocolate is more the kind of drink you treat yourself to after a hard day’s work. Or make for loved ones when they come to visit over the festive season. In fact, team this up with some non alcoholic Christmas punch and you’ve got everyone covered!
This particular Christmas hot chocolate recipe can be made in both a saucepan or in a Velvetiser. You’ll find methods for both further down in this post. However, if you need please a larger crowd, you might find slow cooker hot chocolate easier.
If you’re on the fence about buying a Velvetiser, I highly recommend giving my Hotel Chocolat Velvetiser review a read first. I gave it a thorough testing and share my honest findings to help make it easier for you to decide. I get no kickbacks from it whatsoever, and I bought the machine using my own money. So you can be sure it’s an unbiased opinion.
Is hot chocolate a good Christmas gift?
Hot chocolate is a fantastic Christmas gift! There’s nothing more dreamy than settling down to watch a Christmas film, with a blanket and a hot mug of chocolatey perfection.
Hot chocolate stirrers are very popular. You can easily make them at home and change up the flavours/additions to suit everyone’s needs.
Alternatively, you can buy some incredible hot chocolate bombes from The Gourmet Chocolate Pizza company. A fabulous local business who’s Belgian chocolate quality is outstanding!
How do you make hot chocolate festive?
When I asked lots of people ‘if I said Christmas hot chocolate, what would you expect to get?’, there were some resounding favourites.
Quite a few said chocolate orange, others says a Baileys hot chocolate, but the overall majority wanted classic Christmas spices.
So how do you make hot chocolate festive? You add the perfect balance of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and love. Simple!
Ingredients and substitutions
Confused about what ingredients to buy? Not sure about a substitution? Here’s everything you might need to know…
- Milk – I recommend using full fat cows milk for the most rich and creamy results. It will work with virtually any milk though. So plant based alternatives like soya milk and oat milk are absolutely fine.
- Chocolate – I’ve found you get the best results from using Green & Blacks 37% milk chocolate. You need quite a rich chocolate to combat the sweetness of the milk. Quality is key here, you will definitely taste it in the results!
- Cinnamon, Ginger, Nutmeg – Any brands will work great. Just make sure you get the ground varieties, not whole.
Christmas hot chocolate recipe tips
Here are tips you’ll find helpful when making this recipe.
- When measuring out spices, it’s important to use proper measuring spoons (not just a teaspoon). Accuracy ensures the perfect balance and flavour.
- Use whole (full fat) cows milk for the most rich and creamy Christmas hot chocolate.
- Making it in a Velvetiser? It’s really important to chop the chocolate as finely as you possibly can. Otherwise it may not fully melt and could even cause damage to the machine long term.
- Even if making in a Velvetiser, I recommend giving your Christmas hot chocolate a good stir before drinking. Just to make sure the spices are blended through and don’t settle at the bottom.
- I can’t stress enough how important using a good quality chocolate is. You will really taste it in the end results.
- Don’t use milk chocolate that is less than 37% cocoa solids. Your festive hot chocolate will be far too sweet.
Time management
Have limited time? Struggle with recipe timings? Or juggling around other things? Here’s some time managing info to make your life easier.
This easy Christmas hot chocolate recipe is designed to be made as and when you want a mug. You can relieve the prep stress though…
Try finely chopping a few mugs worth of the chocolate in advance, store in an air tight container at room temperature. And have a little pot of the Christmas spice mixture ready to go. This way, the time consuming parts have already been done and it will speed up the process dramatically.
All you then have to do is measure out 220ml of milk, 35g of chocolate and 1/4 tsp of the spice mix. Then melt and enjoy. Easy peasy!
If you like this recipe…
…you might also like:
Christmas Hot Chocolate – Step by Step Picture Recipe
(For a printer friendly version, see the recipe card at the end of this post)
Ingredients
Here is what you will need to make 1 mug. (Easily multiplied.)
Christmas spice mix
This makes enough for about 4-6 mugs of Christmas hot chocolate.
- 2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp Ground Ginger
- 1/4 tsp Ground Nutmeg
Hot chocolate
- 35g (1.23 oz) Green and Blacks 37% Milk Chocolate
- 220ml (3/4 Cup + 1/8 Cup) Whole/Full Fat Milk
- 1/4 tsp Christmas Spice Mix *
*Use a level 1/4 tsp for a subtle flavour or a heaped 1/4 tsp for a stronger flavour
Essential equipment
- Small Pot
- Chopping Board
- Sharp Knife
- Velvetiser or Saucepan and Whisk
Instructions
First, mix all the spices together in a small pot (2 tsp Cinnamon, 1/4 tsp Ginger, 1/4 tsp Nutmeg) to make the Christmas spice mix, and set to one side.
Next, chop the chocolate (35g | 1.23oz) as finely as you possibly can. This is especially important if you are using a Velvetiser.
Add the chopped chocolate, along with the milk (220ml | 3/4 Cup + 1/8 Cup) and Christmas spice mix (level 1/4 tsp for a subtle flavour | heaped 1/4 tsp for a stronger flavour) to your Velvetiser.
Then pop the lid on, press the start button and wait for the magic to happen…
If you don’t have a Velvetiser, you can simply melt over a low heat in a saucepan instead. Make sure you stir frequently so prevent the chocolate from catching and burning on the bottom though.
And that’s it! Told you this was a super easy Christmas hot chocolate recipe!
How to prepare Christmas hot chocolate ahead of time
To lighten the load a little, finely chop your chocolate and make the spice mix in advance. Store them both in separate air tight containers at room temperature.
Now all you have to do is measure and make!
Loved this Christmas hot chocolate recipe? Pin it!
Easy Christmas Hot Chocolate - Printable Recipe
Feeling the chill? Need a warming festive drink to snuggle up with? This Christmas hot chocolate is exactly what you need! A rich and creamy chocolate drink, teamed up with classic festive spices. Guaranteed to make you feel cosy, content and Christmassy!
Ingredients
For the Christmas Spice Mix *
- 2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp Ground Ginger
- 1/4 tsp Ground Nutmeg
For the Christmas Hot Chocolate
- 35g (1.23 oz) Green and Blacks 37% Milk Chocolate
- 220ml (3/4 Cup + 1/8 Cup) Whole/Full Fat Milk
- 1/4 tsp Christmas Spice Mix #
Essential Equipment
- Small Pot
- Chopping Board
- Sharp Knife
- Velvetiser or Saucepan and Whisk
Instructions
- Mix the cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg in a small pot. Set aside until needed. Then chop the milk chocolate as finely as you can.
- Add the milk, chopped chocolate and Christmas spice to your Velvetiser. Switch it on, wait then enjoy!
- Alternatively, you can melt it over a low heat in a saucepan instead. Whisk frequently to ensure the chocolate doesn't burn on the bottom of the pan.
Notes
* this will make enough for 4-6 mugs of Christmas hot chocolate
# use a level 1/4 tsp for a subtle flavour | use a heaped 1/4 tsp for a stronger flavour
Stir well before drinking for best results. (This prevents the spices settling at the bottom.)
See the main post for a more detailed, step by step picture recipe.
Be sure to read the sections Ingredients and Substitutions, Recipe Tips and Troubleshooting and Time Management for lots of helpful information before you begin making this recipe. You can find them in the main body of this post.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 1 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 301Total Fat: 15gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 26mgSodium: 134mgCarbohydrates: 32gFiber: 1gSugar: 30gProtein: 10g
Nutritional information on kitchenmason.com should only be used as a general guideline, I am not a certified nutritionist. Please always check labels for allergens where applicable.
I want to see YOUR creations!
Have you made this Christmas spiced hot chocolate? I’d love to know if you have! Tag me in your pics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram or email me at emma@kitchenmason.com.
Other tasty hot chocolate recipes
About Emma Mason
Emma is a professional blogger. Utilising over 20 years of cooking experience, she’s passionate about making your life easier, one recipe at a time! Drawing on her 12+ year background in recipe research and development, photography, copy writing and marketing, Emma has turned kitchenmason.com into a successful career. Known as ‘the organisation queen’ among friends, she is passionate about creating easy to follow recipes that anyone can follow and enjoy. She lives in Nottingham (UK) with her husband, daughter and 2 naughty cats. In her spare time she can be found reading a good book, training at the dojo preparing for her black belt grading, or dreaming up the next crazy colour combo for her hair!